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Focusrite RedNet Simplifies the Complex World of Film Scoring for John Jennings Boyd

06 Dec 2013

RedNet, Focusrite’s acclaimed range of Dante-based Ethernet-networked studio interfaces has become the new and simplified signal transport infrastructure for film and television scoring composer John Jennings Boyd. Working from his Hollywood, California recording studio, Boyd (whose music can be heard in blockbusters like Smurfs 1, Smurfs 2, and Four Christmases as well as on the small screen in HBO's How to Make It In America, Discovery's Life, CBS's 48 Hours, and dozens of shows across most major cable networks) is using a RedNet 1 A/D – D/A audio networking-capable interface to connect two computers, each running a RedNet PCIe card. Each PCIe card delivers up to 128 channels at 3ms roundtrip latency. Now, via a few standard Ethernet cables all connected together by a network switch, Boyd can sequence live music on Cubase from one of the computers and stream that audio directly to the second computer, which is running Pro Tools, over the network with virtually zero latency. What once required complex copper snakes or MADI cables, now has been simplified and made far more efficient.

“This future-proofs my workflow,” says Boyd. “I’ll be able to scale this signal path to any extent I need to, in any facility. It is incredibly convenient, to be able to have separate computers dedicated to sequencing and recording and never have to worry about latency or sync. I’ve never experienced a problem with RedNet, and the sound quality is excellent. RedNet has become my main converter. I’m using it to record guitars, solo instruments and vocals, and the conversion is totally transparent and lightning-fast.”

In fact, adds Boyd, it’s also provided an economic benefit: By allowing such high resolution audio on a basic Pro Tools 11 platform, Boyd isn’t required to upgrade to an HD3 system. “The quality of the sound is very close to what you’d experience from an HD rig at a fraction of the cost, and I can run video right from a Pro Tools session,” he says. “This is the acid test for film scoring workflow these days, and RedNet comes through with flying colours.”